“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.” This quote by Paulo Coelho describes a key aspect of surviving, especially when suffering through a long time. Lakshmi, the hero of Patricia McCormik’s book Sold, faces terrifying experiences but survives her suffering due to her amazing courage and endurance. Not only is she dehumanized by being sold into sex trafficking, but also in an abusive patriarchal society. Lakshmi’s character teaches readers how to deal with suffering and overcome it, small acts of rebellion, endurance, and the power of using your imagination. BODY PARAGRAPH 1 Acts of rebellion, even small ones, can be used to survive and actually help people. For example, in the book Lakshmi (who is a good role model for rebellion) rebels against her boss Mumtaz when …show more content…
When we first meet Lakshmi, she demonstrates the ability to use her imagination by giving each of her cucumbers a name. She says, “Each of my cucumbers has a name, I treat them all as my children”. At Happy House, Lakshmi uses her imagination as a way to keep the beauty of the outside world alive. For example, she says, “I consider a world so ugly that a child would be maimed for life to fetch an extra rupee or two. And another world full of brides and marigolds, rain machines and white horses”. By maintaining her ability to imagine the good when surrounded by a lot of evil, Lakshmi demonstrates the power of imagination/fantasy as a survival skill: “Fantastic reality ability (FRA) is defined as the capacity to use imagination in response to stress or trauma as a coping strategy” (Rubinstein et al.). In an awful circumstance, holding on to hope, even if it is a fantasy, can give people strength to
A theme that I quickly noticed was innocence. Lakshmi was told that she was going to the city to work as a maid, but while her step-father sold her, she thought, “I don’t understand at all. A great deal of money has just been paid for work I have not done yet” (McCormick 55). Even while Uncle Husband told her to lie and while she watched a girl get humiliated for disobeying, Lakshmi did not know the amount of danger she was in until she stood at Happiness House in her uncomfortable, new dress and was adulterated by a stranger (McCormick 102). McCormick strengthened the novel with symbols, and a recurring one was books. Dispersed in the pages were different books that came to represent different things to Lakshmi as she grew and developed. Initially, Lakshmi hated Harish, the son of a Happiness House worker, because he had his own storybook (McCormick 151). Every day, Lakshmi would steal the book and “pretend she was in school again with Gita and her soft, moonfaced teacher” (McCormick 155). The storybook went from a source of jealousy, to a loved memory, to the bond between the beautiful friendship of Harish and Lakshmi as he taught her to read the American stories inside. Another book was Lakshmi’s notebook that recorded her debt and earnings. She was convinced that her calculations would be enough to prove she had earned her way home. In this way, the forbidden notebook came to symbolize her
There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the Afro-American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation. Civil disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call attention to its injustice, hoping to bring about its withdrawal.
Courage is not simply about how well you deal with fear, how many noble deeds you accomplish, or how you overcome life threatening situations. Courage is the practice of determination and perseverance. Something like, an unwillingness to abandon a dream even when the pressures of society weigh down on your shoulders; society will make you feel tired, humiliated, broken, and confused. Actually, it can be effortlessly said that daily courage is more significant than bouts of great deeds. Since everybody undergoes demanding circumstances on a daily basis, and most of us will not be called to perform a great deed, courage comes from those daily struggles and successes. However, Kate Bornstein is one person who has been able to transform her everyday life into a brilliant deed of courage. She threw herself into an unknown abyss to discover truth that many others would never dare tread. Ingeniously combining criticism of socially defined boundaries, an intense sense of language, and a candid autobiography, Bornstein is able to change cultural attitudes about gender, insisting that it is a social construct rather than a regular occurrence, through here courageous writing.
Innocence ripped away and replaced by premature struggling through life is what outlines Sold by Patricia McCormick. This historical fiction novel follows the story of Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Nepal. Desperately poor, Lakshmi can only enjoy simple pleasures, such as raising her speckled goat named Tali, and having her mother Ama brush and braid her hair. When the violent Himalayan rains tear away all that remains of their cucumber crops, Lakshmi’s maimed stepfather says she must take up a job, for he cannot get work. Lakshmi is introduced to the charming Bajai Sita who promises her a job as a maid in a wealthy area of India. Excited and full of hope to help her family, Lakshmi endures the long trek to India where her journey ends at the “Happiness House.” Soon she learns the frightening truth: she has been sold into prostitution. She is betrayed, broken, and yet still manages to come through her ordeal with her soul intact. Sold depicts a story meant to teach and inspire, making the novel a piece that is highly important for all to see and read.
Carl Jung justifies a hero as a figure who: “undergoes tremendous suffering for some great heroic purpose. Some suffering figures reach a level of heroic transcendence in a victory over adversity in their own limitation.” (Carl Jung) Mariam’s scarification of her life to help others and by living everyday in fear shows representation of the hero. Mariam character provides emotional attachment and hope. Her actions reflect of the everyday life that an Afghan woman suffers from on a day to day basis. The heroism is
In most of the world's greatest literature, there have been introduced countless courageous characters and triumphant victories. These characters have the power to father strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. Such characters as Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God, Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, June from The Joy Luck Club, and Edna from The Awakening. Throughout each of these magnificent stories comes an example of bravery and courage. Although in some cases, the characters may not generally be perceived by the public to be courageous at all, they demonstrate extreme strength in overcoming adversity.
Hope is essential to survival which is described in the novels Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and Sold by Patricia McCormick. The novel Long Way Gone is a true story about Ishmael Beah. Ishmael became a forced child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. His village was attacked when he was only 12 years of age. Ishmael, his brother, and his friends sauntered from village to village trying to get the daily essentials such as food and shelter. Every day was a struggle for surviving. He would think about his family and hope those days would come back to him. The novel Sold from Patricia McCormick is about a Nepali girl named Lakshmi that was sold into slavery at the age of 12. Lakshmi’s stepfather tells her to take the job in the city to
Symbolism is a poetic and literary element that interacts with readers and engages their feelings and emotions. In Sold, thirteen-year-old Nepali girl, Lakshmi, is forced to take a job to help support her family. Involuntarily, she ends up in prostitution via the Happiness House; this sex trafficking battle forces Lakshmi to envision her future and possibility of never returning home. The very first vignette of the novel speaks of a tin roof that her family desperately needs, especially for monsoon season. At the brothel, Lakshmi works to pay off her debt to the head mistress, Mumtaz, but cannot seem to get any sort of financial gain in her time there. Both the tin roof and the debt symbolize unforeseen and improbable ambitions, yet she finds the power within herself to believe. How does Lakshmi believe in herself despite her unfathomable living conditions and occupation?
There have been few occasions where the rebellious leaders have created a downfall for our country, such as Hitler, but it is biased to assume all experiences of these traits will be destructive. People often have a predisposition that the words rebellion and disobedience are dissenting, which is not always valid. In events such as the American Revolution, civil rights, and women’s suffrage; these would not have been obtainable without a characteristic such as disobedience. This has created social progress, and can continue to create progress for America. From slavery, women's rights, religious life, voting, American attitudes were forever changed. The American Revolution produced a new outlook among Americans that had ramifications into the future. Groups excluded from equality, such as slaves and women, would draw their inspirations from revolutionary
However, in some occasions there is an ethical duty to rebel against a government, rather than a peaceful protest. The American Revolution is a perfect example, for the reason that Great Britain wanted to take advantage of the colonies by demanding taxes on revenues. The colonist took matter into their own hands when they saw that a peaceful protest did not work. Moreover, even though the British had a huge advantage over the colonies; the colonies did not took that as an excuse. They are several criteria’s that revolution would be justified.
In the book Sold by Patricia McCormick shares the story of Lakshmi who at the age of 13 is sold by her step father and is forced into the a life of prostitution. She is born and raised in a simple village community, her only trouble in life is her step father. Lakshmi will soon come to learn there is a whole world outside of her village and it is not as pure as she once believed. Lakshmi is starved and beaten until she finally comes to terms with her new fate. She tells stories of what happened to her while locked away, what she learns from the other girls, and what could happen to her if she angers Mumtaz. Lakshmi does not understand what is happening only they are happening to her. The experiences Lakshmi goes through can relate to everyones’ personal experiences in life.
Imagine having your parents sell you into prostitution and you don't realize it until it's too late. How would you feel? Sold by Patricia McCormick is novel about a girl, Lakshmi, who lives in the mountains of Nepal and is forced to leave her home due to a monsoon. After the disaster, her home, crops and livelihood and family is left alone and in need of help. In order to get this help, Lakshmi is sold off. However, Lakshmi does not notice that she is sold off until she is abused and treated like an animal by Mumtaz in the happiness house. A thought of betrayal sweeps over her, and because of the depression, she has no hope for life and cannot stay positive. Throughout this book, there are many people who have helped Lakshmi gain hope and positivity,
Overall, the Irish author’s claim about disobedience and rebellion is definitely a credible argument. Even when it seems hopeless to find a positive change, there is often at least conclusive learning experiences that exemplify progress. The ability to rebel and break rules is always an undeniably unique and valuable trait. After all, it is those who have no fear to break the rules or to fail that have caused dramatic change in the scope of people’s history. Rules are written to be broken, and the ability to stand out amongst the crowd and be a leader who ignites change is what forces social progress
... injury and even death of others, maybe even themselves. One other reason for rebellion involves family. Sometimes parents may acquire a divorce and the parents begin dating someone new and their children will not listen or do anything for their boyfriend or girlfriend because they may not approve or they are still hurting. Rebellion happens all over the world, at any time, over a little thing, maybe even bigger reasons. Not just bad people rebel. Saints sometimes rebel because they do not like what is being taught or what is being said. Everyone has a say in what they believe and not all rules should be made by the same group of people all the time. Men and women all around the globe can be found breaking laws every day. They make even break a few rules in their everyday life, but that is because they believe in their own mind that it is the right thing to do.
Orange Oil Multiple Benefits. Use as a diffuser. Orange essential oil is a good diffuser and enlivens your spirits when you add it to your bath or even combine it with a perfume. Thus, orange essential oils have multiple benefits and are extremely helpful in curing different types of ailments and health problems.